


Tandem

by Schmoogles



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Itachi and Sasuke, Itachi returns to the village, Naruto AU, there will be more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:27:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23623108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schmoogles/pseuds/Schmoogles
Summary: "This is the battlefield where it’s supposed to end, where waves of rage and pain and grief would ebb and surge back in with a crash, the final resting place of one brother and a monument of victory for the other. So Sasuke doesn’t know what to do as his brother kneels before him in a full bow, palms pressed flat to the earth below him and knees tucked under him like a child in fetal position. It makes him sick. It makes him sad."Sasuke learns the truth from Itachi before it's too late and the two make their return to Konohagakure. They mend their bonds, forge new ones, and heal together as they navigate life after being rogue ninja.(SasuSaku)
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 14
Kudos: 44





	Tandem

This is the battlefield where it’s supposed to end, where waves of rage and pain and grief would ebb and surge back in with a crash, the final resting place of one brother and a monument of victory for the other. So Sasuke doesn’t know what to do as his brother kneels before him in a full bow, palms pressed flat to the earth below him and knees tucked under him like a child in fetal position. It makes him sick. It makes him sad.

The younger brother’s eyes are blown fully wide, staring with incredulity at Itachi. “Forgive me, Sasuke.” A shaky voice comes from the kneeling figure. Sasuke feels his stomach heave for a moment and then settle back.

“Get up.” Sasuke growls, hands balled into fists. Itachi doesn’t move from his position but instead mumbles, “Please, forgive me.” 

“Get up!” Sasuke shouts, moving forward to yank Itachi up from the ground by his collar. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, huh?! Do you think apologizing excuses what you’ve done?” His sharingan blazes as he stares into Itachi’s eyes. What he sees when he looks into his brother’s gaze makes his breath hitch.

There are tears pricking at the corners of Itachi’s eyes. Deep-set purple bags are under his eyes, his skin is pale and sickly, his eyes are dull with exhaustion or grief or perhaps a mix of the both. He looks horrible. The intimidating energy that usually surrounded him was gone and he looked more like an ill, tired child than anything. 

Sasuke releases his hold on Itachi’s collar and the older man crumples to the ground onto his knees. “I should have told you the truth sooner. I didn’t want any of this to happen.” He croaks out solemnly.   
“The truth.” Sasuke repeats. “That you slaughtered our clan? That you planned to slaughter me?” He laughs without mirth. “You look weak in your current state. If you’re trying to receive mercy from me, it won’t work.”

The gray sky above them thunders angrily, rain begins to fall. 

Itachi lets out a chuckle that causes Sasuke to tense up. “You’re perceptive, little brother. As it is right now, there is a degenerative disease ravaging my body. I’ve been afflicted for some time.” He peers up at Sasuke thoughtfully, a small smile on his face. “I don’t fear death. My motivation isn’t out of self-preservation.”

Eyes narrowed, Sasuke flexes his fingers around the hilt of Kusanagi. “And what is your motive?”

“I want to save you, Sasuke. I fear that the decisions I’ve made have been misguided and destructive. Before you kill me, you deserve to know the truth. The real truth.”  
Sasuke looks down with skepticism at his brother. This could be a ploy to distract him, to cast him under a genjutsu and kill him. But there’s an unfortunate all-too-human part of Sasuke’s heart that is curious. 

“Tell me.”   
…

Sasuke’s emergence from Itachi’s genjutsu leaves him wretching on ground, saliva and tears rolling down his chin. His body wracks with sobs and his fingernails scratch painfully into the dirt below him as if he’ll be blown away. His entire life purpose has been all for a lie. His family died because Konoha ordered it, but also because they planned on killing innocent villagers to restore clan pride. His brother bore the weight of choosing between family and village at the age of thirteen. Itachi had to live with that guilt, had to live with his beloved little brother wanting to kill him, and the village he sacrificed everything for deeming him a traitor.

Itachi crawls towards Sasuke and reaches a weak hand forward. He places it on Sasuke’s shoulder with the gentleness and caution that someone might approach a stray animal with out of fear of being bitten. “Sasuke.” Itachi says kindly but firmly. 

With red-rimmed eyes, Sasuke slowly looks up at his brother. “I don’t want you to walk down this path of hatred any longer and I don’t think I am long for this world. My wish is for you to return to Konohagakure. For us to return.”

Sasuke’s eyes are wide and his jaw slackens in shock. 

“Your big brother is very tired, Sasuke.” Itachi continues, raising a hand to poke Sasuke’s forehead. 

“Let’s go home.”  
_____  
Haruno Sakura hardly gets days off and when she does, they’re usually spent reading medical textbooks or perfecting her chakra control. As she steps outside of her home, her green eyes flick up to the sky. The clouds are dark and heavy, the deep gray above casting an ominous feeling on the world below. ‘The forecast said it was supposed to be sunny today.’ She thinks as she heads down the bustling streets of Konoha.

Children are running through the streets, their carefree laughter filling the air. Sakura smiles to herself, recalling lighthearted memories of the early days of her Genin team formation. The time before the Akatsuki started actively terrorizing villages, before beloved comrades died, before Sasuke left. 

Sasuke’s defection stirs up bittersweet feelings within Sakura. Much of her newly acquired strength is due to her determination to help bring him home and she wonders if she would have improved this much without him leaving. She wonders about Sasuke’s own progression. At this point in time, Sasuke is known to be traveling in a four man cell and reports say that they largely leave their enemies injured rather than dead. She would like to think that there is hope for him yet, but she can’t count on him returning on his own. She must train harder. Considering hypotheticals is pointless when Sasuke is out there in the world somewhere with no intention of returning home. 

Having been entirely consumed in her thoughts, Sakura blinks when she realizes she’s made it to the front gate of Konoha. Something in the air felt wrong. An alarm starts crying from loudspeakers all around the village and the bloodcurdling sound makes Sakura come to a halt. Villagers share worried glances and begin retreating into buildings, leaving shops shuttered and the streets eerily empty in moments. A swarm of ANBU and jounin shinobi are sprinting from the heart of the village towards the front gates.

“What’s going on?!” Sakura yells out, trying to get the attention of any shinobi who will tell her what’s going on. A dark-haired jounin shouts as he runs and looks at her grimly. “They’re surrendering. Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.” He takes off out of the gates.

Sakura is dizzy and her legs feel weak, her mind a flurry of confused thoughts. A crow shrieks in the sky, breaking her from her daze and she finds her legs carrying her out of the village, moving faster and harder than ever before, lungs screaming for oxygen as she tries to blink away the tears in her eyes. She follows the dirt path and comes to a stop when she sees the familiar fluorescent orange jumpsuit of her teammate.

The thundering of her heart drowns out the sounds around her and the world feels tilted off its axis as she slowly steps towards Naruto. About thirty shinobi are poised for attack in the trees and on the ground, their faces betraying their concern, fear, and anger. One step at a time she makes it until she’s three feet behind Naruto. 

“Sakura-chan.” Naruto’s voice is uncharacteristically even and calm. “He’s back.”

She summons up all of her courage and strength and peeks around Naruto’s shoulder. She stares at the ground and slowly moves up seeing sandal-clad feet. Her eyes stop moving when she lands on the collar of a sleeveless gray shirt.

“Sakura, huh?” 

That voice. Sakura heels her hands ball into shaky fists as she slowly shifts her gaze up. When their eyes lock, it’s as if the entire world drops out from around her. Dark, tired eyes stare ahead at her emotionlessly. Sasuke is back and he’s with the brother that he swore he would murder. This must be a trick, there must be something more to this. There’s no way that Uchiha Itachi would return to Konoha. He’s a terrorist. A monster who murdered innocent people. Why is Sasuke with him? Why is he so calm? None of this makes sense to Sakura.

A voice gentler than one Sakura has ever heard before breaks the silence and Sakura’s eyes widen at the source. Uchiha Itachi puts his arms up into the air and smiles tiredly. “I would like to speak the Hokage. I’ve decided to surrender and have no intention of making an attack.”

The tension in the air is palpable. The sky opens up and rain comes down in sheets. Sasuke’s eyes flick between his teammates and settle briefly back on Sakura’s face. Perhaps a trick of the light or perhaps it’s just rain but Sakura thinks that under the shade of thick black bangs, maybe, just maybe, there’s a tear rolling down his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, me again! I plan on this being a multi-chap fic, so please let me know your honest opinions in the comments if this has piqued your interest. Otherwise I have two other alternate universe stories that I'm still polishing up and I'm pretty excited about. Thank you as always for reading and stay safe during these crazy times!  
> -Love,  
> Schmoogles


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